411 MMA Rankings 02.14.12: Bantamweight Division

Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 02.14.2012

Can Renan Barao pass Urijah Faber after defeating Scott Jorgensen at UFC 143? Where does Bibiano Fernandes rank since becoming DREAM champion? Check out the 411 MMA Bantamweight rankings to see where everyone ranks!



Welcome to the latest edition of the 411 MMA Rankings and the first ever to fall on Valentine's Day! Let's face it, nothing quite says Valentines like mixed martial arts, right?

This week, the 411 MMA staff ranks the best bantamweight fighters in the world. An interesting dynamic appears to be afoot in the world of the 135ers because top mainstays like Brian Bowles, Scott Jorgensen, Joseph Benavidez and Miguel Torres are no longer in the top five. Albeit, these specific names are not as high because of various reason. Bowles and Jorgensen each recently suffered losses. Benavidez has dropped down to flyweight where he will compete for the new UFC championship and Torres has been in the news more for Tweeting than actually fighting. All this means is there will be fresh blood in the mix at the near the top of the division for the first time in a healthy bit.

While Urijah Faber will challenge champion Dominick Cruz again in July, fresh faces like Renan Barao have emerged as dangerous fighters. Specifically Barao because he has run through competitors since coming to America about two years ago. If the championship should eventually come down to Cruz and Barao later this year, someone has to lose (well, unless another Edgar/Maynard type draw goes down) and right now, I'm not sure who I'd pick.

Aside from the UFC, anticipation is rising because BELLATOR is back in less than a month. Their bantamweight division will be under the spotlight in April because champion Zach Makovsky will square off with top contender Eduardo Dantas. It poses a similar match-up to what a Cruz/Barao fight would be - American wrestler vs. well rounded Brazilian. Of course, you would also describe Cruz as a well rounded fighter but work with me. Makovsky has been a dominant fighter over the past two years with a 8-0 record over that span. Meanwhile, Dantas is 5-0 through the same period and has displayed the ability to knock out an opponent, submit them or take them to a decision. However, the soon-to-be 24-year old "DuDu" Dantas has never fought more than 15 minutes in a professional fight while Makovsky went 25-minutes with Ed West in 2010 to become champion. Right now, along with Cruz/Faber, this is the BIG fight in the division to look forward to.

Lastly, one last fight to discuss and it's a doozy. Miguel Torres, one of the best bantamweights of all-time will fight arguably the best prospect in the division right now, Michael McDonald this April at UFC 145. A lot of people are sour on Torres whether it's for his Twitter scandal last year or the perception he's now a "boring" fighter. No matter how the momentum has switched in their careers, you cannot count Torres out. An interesting fact, McDonald is 21-years old and has a 14-1 record, including a 3-0 record in the UFC. When Torres turned 21-years old in 2002, his pro MMA record stood at 16-0 while fighting exclusively on regional shows in Indiana.

---

Feedback to last week's welterweight rankings:

From guest:
what? how is rory mcdonald ranked under kampmann, sanchez, shields.they are all not doing as good, and his only loss was to condit. maybe its bcuz you guys think that those three bums fought better opponents idk. and jake ellenbergers 3 how do you figure that "sarcasm" cuz he knocked out shields.yes i can see how that makes him number 3 "still sarcasm"

ummmm no no put jake ellenberger where he should be and that's bellow kampmann. and put mcdonald where he belongs and thats above diego sanchez. i mean are you guys just pulling names out of a hat or something. who has ellenberger beaten to be put as number 3
Rory MacDonald's biggest win is against either Nate Diaz or Mike Pyle. Kampmann's wins over Paulo Thiago and Rick Story are as impressive. Jake Shields was considered one of the top two or three welterweights in the world prior to his recent losing streak. Remember, if he beats Jake Ellenberger instead, he's still a top 5 fighter. As for Sanchez, he has wins over Thiago and Kampmann. Comes down to it, MacDonald needs to consistently fight better competition to make a surge up the rankings.

As for Ellenberger at #3, no doubt his knockout of Shields moved him up the rankings. Combine that with recent losses sustained by Nick Diaz, Jon Fitch and Jake Shields and there's your explanation. He has the most impressive win compared to Kampmann, MacDonald and Sanchez, plus has a five-fight winning streak. None of the others can say the same.

From K. Bett:
I'm a little surprised Woodley, the uncrowned strikeforce WW champ, and Ebersole who's riding a ten fight win streak since losing Lombard 3 years ago. didn't make the list. Alves is one of my favorite fighters but I wouldn't have him listed until he gets some wins that matter. I still feel Brenneman was lucky against Story.
Luck doesn't matter much, a win's a win. I agree with you about Thiago Alves. He has been too inconsistent for my liking to be as high as he was (#12). I was surprised Woodley did not get much support considering he has some impressive wins of late (Tarec Saffiedine, Paul Daley and Jordan Mein). However, I surmise some are not pleased with his wrestling-heavy style. Still, he's 10-0 against some tough opponents.

From Brian:
There are so many unanswered questions at 170.... what a stacked division!
I wouldn't use the word 'stacked' because when I think of a stacked division, I look at the lightweights. When there are maybe a handful of guys at the top who are contending for a title, that's stacked for me. The welterweight division definitely has more quality than it did about a year ago, but so many guys have lost recently. Plus, GSP will not be fighting for over 20 months, you have Nick Diaz, Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, Martin Kampmann, and Thiago Alves all having lost at least once in the past year.

From MJH:
 
Rory McDonald is fine where he is for now. he doesn't have the wins to be ranked any higher. His best win is against a guy better suited for lightweight. I think Alves is the sleeper here. If he is fully focused he can fight with anyone on the list.
IF, being the key phrase when talking about Thiago Alves. Coming off the loss to GSP, he was outgunned by Jon Fitch. Then he looked great against John Howard, but returned and was overpowered by Rick Story. Most recently, he took care of Papy Abedi (who took a big step up in competition). Alves fights Kampmann in about three weeks and this could be a make it or break it time for him.

From Sisti:
The division has been all sorts of jumbled up. The obvious 2 and 3 guys of Fitch and Shields just lost bad! You have to still give those 2 guys a ton of credit though for the huge win streaks they just had. I'm going to have to say they still deserve 2 and 3 spots because one loss shouldn't overrule 15 or so consecutive wins. The only reason I say this is because they were so in a different league from 4 - 15

Fitch and Shields wins are a who's who in MMA.

Anyways, I know it's all subjective and I see why they are not 2 and 3 from 411 perspective. Here's how I'd put them though

1. GSP (duh)
2. Fitch
3. Shields
4. Condit
5. Diaz
6. Hendricks
7. Ellenberger
8. Kos
9. Sanchez
10. Rory
11. Alves
12. Kampman
13. Story
14. Pierce
15. Askren
I understand your hesitance with pushing Fitch & Shields down after losing in such quick knockout fashion. However, I find it hard to keep guys that high who were decisively beaten. Cain Velasquez lost in similar fashion and remains at #2 in the 411 MMA Rankings, which also surprises me. Still, how can you have Ellenberger as low as #7 despite being on a 5-fight winning streak and knocking Shields into next week?

From Matt:
What is the order of the 411 rankings? Not talking about the order of the fighters, but the order of the rankings themselves. Just curious. It seems like you just jump all over the place and don't follow any order.

Like how last week you did Heavy and this week Welter. Why not just start at Heavy and work your way down? Heavy, next week Light Heavy, next week Middle, etc.

I realize I don't write for this great website so it doesn't really matter what I say, just what I would do. It seems as though it'd make more sense, so we (the readers) would know what rankings are coming next week. As it is now, we have no clue what rankings are coming next week. Will it be Middle? Light? (If it is written in the article somewhere and I missed it, I apologize.)

Anyway, Welterweight is the hardest division to rank IMO. For the most part, I agree with what is here.
Congratulations, you are the first person to write and ask about the rankings schedule.

I try to keep a pattern but occasionally, I will go out of order depending on if there is a big bout or multiple fights inside the division that particular week. For example, if I was following the previous pattern, the bantamweight rankings would have been published last week instead of today. I chose to instead do welterweight rankings last week because of the Jorgensen/Barao fight at UFC 143. Sometimes I'll do this to maximize participation from the 411 MMA writers (meaning, instead of having 48 hours to collect specific rankings, we have 2 or 3 additional days). I won't guarantee a certain schedule will remain locked in place for the remainder of the year, but the next several weeks is pretty much set as you see below:

February 21 - Light Heavyweight
February 28 - Middleweight
March 6 - Lightweight
March 13 - Featherweight
March 20 - Pound for Pound
March 27 - Heavyweight
April 3 - Welterweight
April 10 - Bantamweight

By the way, if you're wondering if there is any specific reason the weight classes are in the order above or in the past, there is none.

From K. Bett:
[The obvious 2 and 3 guys of Fitch and Shields just lost bad! You have to still give those 2 guys a ton of credit though for the huge win streaks they just had.

1. GSP (duh)
2. Fitch
3. Shields

Posted By: Sisti (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 11:16 AM]

I understand what you're saying but I think it's fair to say Fitch and Shields are ranked as high as they are because of their status and because the voters respect for their careers. For Shields you have to look at his body of work as a Welterweight, and his last five fights in particular at 170lbs hasn't been very impressive. He beat Thompson, a solid fighter but nothing special, and Daley a ko artist with no ground game at all. His three fights in UFC leave a lot to be desired, he barely beat Kampmann, he was outclassed by GSP and Ellenberger finished him before he had the chance to do anything. In the case of Fitch, he hasn't been very active lately. after beating Alves he fought Penn to a draw and was ko'ed by Hendricks. Most of the guys on this list have been far more active and winning
I wouldn't say Shields was outclassed by GSP. I haven't seen the fight since that night, but GSP was hesitant to go to the ground for obvious reasons. For whatever reason on Shields part, he rarely attempted to go to the ground. So it turned into a kickboxing match and midway through the fight, GSP was poked in the eye and could only see out of one. Hence why Shields did pretty well striking against GSP, all things considered. He was never close to finishing St. Pierre, but if you would have said Shields was going to fight a stand-up battle for 25 minutes against GSP, you would almost certainly have guessed he was going to be knocked out.

The time off for Fitch you mentioned is a good point. He missed 10 months in 2011 after the draw with Penn and when he returned, he was abruptly knocked out by Hendricks. When you go 0-1-1 in the span of one year, you almost HAVE to take some kind of drop.




Thanks for all the comments, questions, support, hate, good, bad, and most definitely ugly. We appreciate it!

---

411's MMA Ranking Rules

- A fighter must fight at least once within the past calendar year to be ranked. The rule applies to weight classes as well so fighters must stay active inside their native weight class. However, if a fighter has a fight scheduled, they are eligible to be ranked.

- If a fighter appears on just one single ballot, and in the top ten, five points shall be deducted to balance out between other fighters who may have been ranked lower, but appeared on more total ballots.

- If you wish to complain about a fighter's ranking in the comments section, then please include an objective reason as to why you don't like the ranking, and include your own set of rankings if you would!

- 411's MMA Rankings are voted on by the staff of 411mania. If you wish to duel over any ranking, contact me and we can work something out. I may be busy but I am almost positive 411's resident Tool is available for such occasions. If not, a comment below can serve you just as well.








411's Official MMA Rankings: Bantamweight Division

Bantamweight Division (135 pounds)






1) Dominick Cruz (19-1)

Height: 5'8

Birthday: September 3, 1985

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Demetrious Johnson - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC on Versus: Cruz vs. Faber - October 1, 2011

- vs. Urijah Faber - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber - July 2, 2011

- vs. Scott Jorgensen - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis - December 16, 2010

- vs. Joseph Benavidez - Win via decision (split) - WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2 - August 18, 2010

- vs. Brian Bowles - Win via TKO (injury) - WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz - March 6, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Urijah Faber - UFC 148: Cruz vs. Faber 3 - July 7, 2012

Comment: Dominick Cruz has been as dominant as any other champion in MMA since stopping Brian Bowles (due to a broken hand) nearly two years ago. Up next is a summer bout with Urijah Faber, the third meeting between the two men (the first in 2006 was for Faber's featherweight championship). I am not certain we have seen any reason to believe Faber can stop him in 2012 because no matter what anyone says about Cruz's style, it has not been solved yet. Not even close.

---

2) Renan Barao (28-1)

Height: 5'6

Birthday: February 27, 1987

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Scott Jorgensen - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit - February 4, 2012

- vs. Brad Pickett - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz - November 5, 2011

- vs. Cole Escovedo - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill - May 28, 2011

- vs. Chris Cariaso - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis - December 16, 2010

- vs. Anthony Leone - Win via submission (armbar) - WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus - June 20, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: Barao SHOT UP the 411 MMA Rankings this month following his decisive decision win over Scott Jorgensen in Las Vegas. For the first time, Barao is not only in the top five, but he leapfrogged Urijah Faber for the #2 ranking. With his UFC 143 win, odds are Barao will fight the Cruz/Faber winner for the 135-pound championship later this year. Whether he will have to fight one more time before then remains to be seen.

---

3) Urijah Faber (26-5)

Height: 5'6

Birthday: May 14, 1979

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Brian Bowles - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson - November 19, 2011

- vs. Dominick Cruz - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber - July 2, 2011

- vs. Eddie Wineland - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones - March 19, 2011

- vs. Takeya Mizugaki - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki - November 11, 2010

- vs. Jose Aldo - Loss via decision (unanimous) - WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber - April 24, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Dominick Cruz - UFC 148: Cruz vs. Faber 3 - July 7, 2012

Comment: The trilogy between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber is set for July 7 in Las Vegas and the bantamweight championship will be on the line. Don't forget, these two fighters will be featured as coaches on the upcoming 15th season of The Ultimate Fighter, kicking off next month on FX.

---

4) Michael McDonald (14-1)

Height: 5'8

Birthday: January 15, 1991

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Alex Soto - Win via KO (strikes) - UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson - November 19, 2011

- vs. Chris Cariaso - Win via decision (split) - UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill - May 28, 2011

- vs. Edwin Figueroa - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis - March 26, 2011

- vs. Clint Godfrey - Win via submission (Armbar) - WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki - November 11, 2010

- vs. Cole Escovedo - Win via KO (punches) - Tachi Palace Fights 5: Stars and Strikes - July 9, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Miguel Torres - UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans - April 21, 2012

Comment: With the recent losses suffered by Brian Bowles and Scott Jorgensen, McDonald emerges in the top 5 for the first time in our rankings. Since jumping to the UFC almost one year ago, his momentum has continued rolling with three wins. His upcoming spring fight with Miguel Torres will offer the biggest named opponent in his career and a huge test for the 21-year old.

---

5) Zach Makovsky (14-2)

Height: 5'8

Birthday: May 1, 1983

Currently Fighting With: Bellator

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Ryan Roberts - Win via submission (North/South choke) - Bellator 54 - October 15, 2011

- vs. Chad Robichaux - Win via TKO (punches) - Bellator 41 - April 16, 2011

- vs. Ed West - Win via decision (unanimous) - Bellator 32 - October 14, 2010

- vs. Bryan Goldsby - Win via decision (unanimous) - Bellator 30 - September 23, 2010

- vs. Nick Mamalis - Win via decision (unanimous) - Bellator 27 - September 2, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Eduardo Dantas - Bellator 65 - April 14, 2012

---

6) Scott Jorgensen (13-5)

Height: 5'4

Birthday: September 17, 1982

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Renan Barao - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit - February 4, 2012

- vs. Jeff Curran - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz - October 29, 2011

- vs. Ken Stone - Win via KO (punch) - UFC: TUF 13 Finale - June 4, 2011

- vs. Dominick Cruz - Loss via decision (unanimous) - WEC 53: Henderson vs. Cruz - December 16, 2010

- vs. Brad Pickett - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez - August 18, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: Jorgensen suffered his first loss in over a year at the hands of Renan Barao in a hard fought decision. Ironically, each of Jorgensen's last four losses dating back to 2008 have come by decision. With the loss, he is out of immediate title contention and will look to make a definitive statement the next time he steps inside the octagon so he does not fall completely out of contention.

---

7) Brian Bowles (10-2)

Height: 5'7

Birthday: June 22, 1980

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Urijah Faber - Loss via submission (guillotine choke) - UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson - November 19, 2011

- vs. Takeya Mizugaki - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber - July 2, 2011

- vs. Damacio Page - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann - March 3, 2011

- vs. Dominick Cruz - Loss via TKO (injury) - WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz - March 6, 2010

- vs. Miguel Torres - Win via KO (punches) - WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles - August 9, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

---

8) Eduardo Dantas (13-2)

Height: 5'10

Birthday: February 3, 1989

Currently Fighting With: Bellator

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Alexis Vila - Win via decision (unanimous) - Bellator 59 - November 26, 2011

- vs. Ed West - Win via decision (split) - Bellator 55 - October 22, 2011

- vs. Wilson Reis - Win via KO (flying knee) - Bellator 51 - September 24, 2011

- vs. Samuel de Souza - Win via submission (armbar) - Shooto: Brazil 20 - December 11, 2010

- vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - Shooto: The Way of Shooto 3: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon - May 30, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Zach Makovsky - Bellator 65 - April 14, 2012

Comment: The second ever Bellator bantamweight title fight is scheduled for April 14 in Atlantic City when season five tournament winner Eduardo Dantas challenges Zach Makovsky. Dantas' striking prowess, combined with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu abilities will make for a tough test for Makovsky, a proven wrestler.

---

9) Miguel Torres (40-4)

Height: 5'9

Birthday: January 18, 1981

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Nick Pace - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson - November 19, 2011

- vs. Demetrius Johnson - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill - May 28, 2011

- vs. Antonio Banuelos - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort - February 5, 2011

- vs. Charlie Valencia - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan - September 30, 2010

- vs. Joseph Benavides - Loss via submission (guillotine choke) - WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz - March 6, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Michael McDonald - UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans - April 21, 2012

Comment: Torres is BACK with the UFC as of the end of December and is going to return to the cage in two months. In Atlanta, he will fight one of the top prospects in the division, Michael McDonald. Will the man who's recognized as the greatest 135er of all-time be used as a stepping stone one more time?

---

10) Masakatsu Ueda (15-1-2)

Height: 5'8

Birthday: December 21, 1977

Currently Fighting With: Shooto

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Kyoji Horiguchi - Win via decision (unanimous) - Shooto: Survivor Tournament Final - January 8, 2012

- vs. Royler Gracie - Win via decision (split) - Amazon Forest Combat 1 - September 14, 2011

- vs. Rumina Sato - Win via KO (body kick) - Shooto: Shooter's Legacy 3 - July 18, 2011

- vs. Ralph Acosta - Win via submission (Brabo choke) - Shooto: Shooter's Legacy 1 - January 10, 2011

- vs. Akitoshi Tamura - Win via decision (unanimous) - Shooto 3: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon - May 30, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

---

11) Bibiano Fernandes (11-3)

Height: 5'7

Birthday: March 30, 1980

Currently Fighting With: DREAM

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Antonio Banuelos - Win via TKO (strikes) - Fight for Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 - December 31, 2011

- vs. Rodolfo Marques - Win via decision (unanimous) - Fight for Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 - December 31, 2011

- vs. Takafumi Otsuka - Win via submission (rear naked choke) - Dream 17 - September 24, 2011

- vs. Hiroyuki Takaya - Loss via decision (unanimous) - Dynamite!! 2010 - December 31, 2010

- vs. Joachim Hansen - Win via decision (split) - DREAM 13 - March 22, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

Comment: Bibiano Fernandes became the first DREAM bantamweight champion on New Year's Eve in Japan when he won the final two fights in their tournament to crown a champion. Since dropping back down to bantamweight, Fernandes is 3-0 and is immediately one of the top two 135-pounders in the Far East.

---

12) Brad Pickett (20-6)

Height: 5'6

Birthday: September 24, 1978

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Renan Barao - Loss via submission (rear naked choke) - UFC 138: Munoz vs. Leben - November 5, 2011

- vs. Ivan Menjivar - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis - December 16, 2010

- vs. Scott Jorgensen - Loss via decision (unanimous) - WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez - August 18, 2010

- vs. Demetrius Johnson - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber - April 24, 2010

- vs. Kyle Dietz - Win via submission (Peruvian necktie) - WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratliff - December 19, 2009

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Damacio Page - UFC on Fuel 2: Gustafsson vs. Nogueira - April 14, 2012

---

13) Takeya Mizugaki (15-6-2)

Height: 5'7

Birthday: December 16, 1983

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Cole Escovedo - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage - September 24, 2011

- vs. Brian Bowles - Loss via decision (unanimous) - UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber - July 2, 2011

- vs. Reuben Duran - Win via decision (split) - UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann - March 3, 2011

- vs. Urijah Faber - Loss via submission (rear naked choke) - WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki - November 11, 2010

- vs. Rani Yahya - Win via decision (unanimous) - WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber - April 24, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Chris Cariaso - UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson - February 26, 2012

---

14) Alexis Vila (11-1)

Height: 5'4

Birthday: March 12, 1971

Currently Fighting With: Bellator

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Eduardo Dantas - Loss via decision (unanimous) - Bellator 59 - November 26, 2011

- vs. Marcos Galvao - Win via decision (split) - Bellator 55 - October 22, 2011

- vs. Joe Warren - Win via KO (punch) - Bellator 51 - September 24, 2011

- vs. Lewis McKenzie - Win via TKO (strikes) - MFA: New Generation 4 - February 12, 2011

- vs. Omar Choudhury - Win via TKO (strikes) - MFA: New Generation 2 - June 25, 2010

Next scheduled appearance:

- Unknown

---

15) Mike Easton (12-1)

Height: 5'5

Birthday: January 25, 1984

Currently Fighting With: UFC

Last 5 fights:

- vs. Jared Papazian - Win via decision (unanimous) - UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller - January 20, 2012

- vs. Bryan Bloodworth - Win via TKO (strikes) - UFC on Versus: Cruz vs. Johnson - October 1, 2011

- vs. Chase Beebe - Win via decision (split) - UWC 7: Redemption - October 3, 2009

- vs. Josh Ferguson - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - UWC 6: Capital Punishment - April 25, 2009

- vs. Justin Robbins - Win via submission (guillotine choke) - UWC 5: Man 'O' War - February 21, 2009

Next scheduled appearance:

- vs. Yves Jabouin - UFC on Fuel 3 - May 15, 2012

Comment: The Hulk improved his UFC record to 2-0 last month by controlling Jared Papazian for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory. So far, he has held up to the hype surrounding him when he was making a name for himself on the regional MMA scene in Virginia. He's a strong grappler (strength wise, plus he's a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and he has power in his hands.



Closing Comments: Ed West and Antonio Banuelos received additional votes.